Raising hope cancelled

SEOUL: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un believes a summit with US President Donald Trump will be a landmark opportunity to end decades of confrontation, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said Sunday (May 27) following his surprise meeting with Kim."He also expressed his intention to put an end to the history of war and confrontation through the success of the North-US summit and to cooperate for peace and prosperity," Moon told reporters, adding both he and Kim agreed to meet or talk in person "if necessary".Earlier on Sunday, North Korea said its leader Kim was "fixed" on holding a summit with Trump, raising hopes the historic meeting might still take place after a turbulent few days of diplomatic brinkmanship.The latest conciliatory declaration from Pyongyang came as the White House confirmed it was sending a team to Singapore to prepare for the Jun 12 summit - a further signal that both sides were moving to cool tensions following a rollercoaster few days on the … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim hopes Trump summit will ‘end history of confrontation’: Moon

PYONGYANG - The following is a statement - in English - issued by Mr Kim Kye Gwan, the First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official name of North Korea, following the cancellation of a high-profile summit between Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump: "The historic summit is now high on the agenda between the DPRK and the US, and the preparations for it are being pushed forward at the final stage amid the remarkably great concern of the world. The sincere pursuit and active efforts made by the DPRK to end the relations of hostility and distrust that have lasted for decades and build a new landmark for the improvement of the DPRK-US relations have commanded unanimous sympathy and support from the public at home and abroad. But suddenly, President of the United States of America (Donald) Trump made public his official stand on May 24 to cancel the DPRK-US summit that had already been made a fait … [Read more...] about Cancellation of Trump-Kim summit: Statement of North Korean First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump sounded a note of caution Wednesday about his much-vaunted summit with Kim Jong Un, saying "we'll see" after Pyongyang threatened to cancel. Trump said the US government had not received any official word of a change in plans for the June 12 meeting in Singapore. "We haven't been notified at all. We'll have to see," Trump said in the Oval Office. "We haven't seen anything. We haven't heard anything. We will see what happens. Whatever it is, it is." After weeks of warm words and diplomatic backslapping, Pyongyang abruptly threatened to pull out Tuesday, over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." In an angrily worded statement, the North warned "if the US is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue". The statement was attributed to first vice foreign minister Kim Kye Gwan and carried by state media KCNA. In that case, he added, Pyongyang would have to … [Read more...] about Trump says ‘we’ll see’ as North Korea threatens to cancel summit

WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday (May 16) voiced hope the upcoming summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump will proceed as planned, as Pyongyang threatened to pull out over US pressure for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."The comments from the North about the meeting, set for Jun 12 in Singapore, were the first sign of a hiccup after weeks of tentative rapprochement."We're still hopeful that the meeting will take place and we'll continue down that path," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News. "At the same time ... we've been prepared that these might be tough negotiations.""The president is ready if the meeting takes place. And if it doesn't, we will continue the maximum pressure campaign that has been ongoing."In an angrily worded statement, the North warned on Wednesday it may back out of the high-level summit if the United States pressures it to give up its nuclear arsenal."If the US is trying to drive us into a corner to … [Read more...] about US ‘hopeful’ for Kim-Trump summit as North threatens to cancel

BERLIN: Violent gales battered northern Europe and beyond Thursday, snapping air and train links and leaving six people dead. Germany halted all long-distance rail traffic for at least a day, while numerous domestic flights were scrapped as hurricane-force winds lashed the country.A 59-year-old man was killed instantly when a tree fell on him in North Rhine-Westphalia state, German police said, as wind speeds attained a high of 203 kilometres an hour (126 mph) at the Brocken -- the highest peak of northern Germany.Another man, a 68-year-old truck driver, died in a traffic accident also in the western German state caused by the ferocious storm, while a firefighter lost his life as he was hit by a fallen tree in central Germany's Bad Salzungen.The strong gales also forced the cancellation of a ski world championship qualifier at Oberstdorf, in the Bavarian Alps.In the Netherlands, which had borne the brunt of the severe winter storms earlier Thursday, two people were crushed by falling … [Read more...] about Six dead, transport cancelled by huge Europe storms